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Take Art brings amazing theatre experiences to hundreds of young children in West Somerset.

02 May 2019

Watch what the audience members and their grown-ups have to say about their experience watching the shows.

Hopping Higher

During March, over 800 Early Years children in West Somerset took part in Take Art's fantastic theatre project Hopping Higher. The pioneering initiative supported schools to host an original show in their own setting or village hall, enabling more people to experience local live performances.

Theatre companies Hikapee and Second Hand Dance took part in the project. Hikapee are a circus company who use the magic of aerial circus in their show To the Moon, which tells the story of a princess like no other, as she embarks on the biggest journey of her life. Second Hand Dance’s Grass, boogied and wiggled with a tale of mini-beasts and the world beneath our feet. With plenty of audience participation, the stories helped fire young children’s imagination and created ways of making sense of the world.

Watch the below films to hear Hikapee talk about the experience of Hopping Higher from the artist perspective and a Somerset teacher talk about the impact of the project on the children.

Who Made it Happen?

The project has been funded by the West Somerset Opportunity Area, as part of their commitment to providing every child and young person with the chance to reach their full potential and was delivered by Take Art, an arts charity focusing on supporting artists, children, young people and communities.

As Tamsin Mosse, Project Manager explains, “Take Art support Early Years staff to access and host high quality shows in their own setting for the benefit of the local community. The commitment and enthusiasm for the project has been amazing and we are indebted to the Early Years professionals involved in making this happen for the under 5s and their families to enjoy.”

This concept builds on momentum generated by Hopper (see below), a project raising awareness and access to Early Years shows. More information on this can be found here takeart.org/hopper